Tuesday, February 04, 2014

Pope Francis: God too weeps, like a father who never disowns his children

Pope
Francis says God too weeps, just like a loving father who never disowns
his children even if they are rebellious. This was the message stressed
during his homily on Tuesday morning at the Santa Marta residence in
the Vatican.

In
his homily Pope Francis takes the day’s reading which portrays the
figure of two fathers, King David who mourns the death of his rebel son
Absalom and Jairus, the head of the Synagogue, who implores Jesus to
heal his daughter.

The Pope explains David’s weeping on hearing of the
killing of his son, even though this son was fighting against him to
conquer his kingdom. David’s army had won but he wasn’t interested in
the victory, he was waiting for his son. He was only interested in his
son! David was a king, the head of a nation but he was also a father.
And therefore, when he heard the news about the death of his son, he
shuddered, and went to an upper room and wept. “Whilst he
was walking away, he was saying: ‘My son, Absalom. My son! My son,
Absalom! If only I had died instead of you! Absalom, my son! My son!’
This is the heart of a father, who never disowns his own son. ‘He’s a
bandit, he’s an enemy. But he is my son!’ and David does not disown his
fatherhood: he weeps.. David weeps twice for his children: On this
occasion and another time when the son from his adultery was about to
die. On that occasion too, he fasted and did penance in order to save
the life of the son. He was a father!”The other father is
the head of the Synagogue. The Pope said Jairus is an important person
but faced with the illness of his daughter, he is not ashamed to throw
himself at Jesus’ feet: “My little daughter is dying, please come and
lay your hands on her so she can be saved and live.” He is not ashamed
and doesn’t care what the others may say, because he is a father. David
and Jairus are two fathers: “For them, the most important
thing is their son, their daughter! There is nothing else. This is the
only important thing! This makes us think about the first thing that
we say to God in the Creed: “I believe in God the Father..” This makes
us think about the fatherhood of God. But God is like this. God is
like this with us! ‘But, Father, God doesn’t weep!’ But yes, he does!
Remember Jesus how he wept when looking at Jerusalem. ‘Jerusalem,
Jerusalem! How many times have I wished to gather your children, like
the hen who gathers her chicks under her wings’. God weeps! Jesus has
wept for us! And that weeping of Jesus is exactly that of a Father who
weeps, who wants everybody with him”.Pope Francis stressed
how in moments of difficulty, “Our Father responds. We remember Isaac,
when he goes with Abraham to do the sacrifice: Isaac was not stupid, he
realized that he was carrying the wood, the fire, but not the sheep for
the sacrifice. He was stricken with anguish in his heart! And what
does he say? ‘Father!’. And immediately the father replies “Here I am
my son!’.

In the same way, Jesus, in the Garden of Olives, said
“with that anguish in his heart: My Father, if it is possible, let this
cup pass me by!’ And the angels came to give him strength. That’s how
our Father is: He is a Father and a Father like this!” A Father like
the one who was waiting for the prodigal son who left with all his
money, all his inheritance. But the father was waiting for him every
day and he “saw him from far away”. “This is our God!” the Pope said,
and “our fatherhood” - that of fathers of families as well as the
spiritual fatherhood of bishops and priests – must be like this. The
Father has like an anointing that comes from the son: he can’t
understand himself without his child! And for this reason he needs his
child, he is waiting for him, he loves him, he looks for him, he
forgives him, he wants him close to him, just as close as the hen who
wants her chicks”:“Let’s go home today with these two icons:
David who mourns and the other, Jairus, the head of the Synagogue, who
throws himself in front of Jesus, without being afraid or ashamed to
become the laughing stock of others. It was their children, the son and
the daughter who mattered. And with these two icons let’s say: ‘I
believe in God the Father…’. And let’s ask the Holy Spirit – because
it’s only He, the Holy Spirit – who teaches us to say “Abba, Father!’
It’s a grace! - to be able to say to God ‘Father’ with our hearts is a
grace of the Holy Spirit. Let’s ask him for this”.